Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Just a quick post tonight to let you all know that we made it safe and sound in Edmonton and we had a great flight today from Cambridge Bay to Edmonton. We are staying again at our favorite hotel in Edmonton, The Sawridge Inn and I would recommend this place if anyone is in Edmonton. Best thing about it is that it is close to shopping and an easy ride to the airport.

We left Cambridge Bay a bit late this afternoon and had to rush to make our connection in Yellowknife to Edmonton. OK rush is putting it mildly, we were escorted with 6 others to security and we didn't even see the dogs. Thankfully the crew from the kennel were there to collect everyone but I'm still kinda sad that we didn't give them a hug before we left.

Since we are on the topic of dogs, Todd at First Air in CamBay always takes great care of our dogs when we travel. He put Hannah and Blitz side by side and Miss Molly was near the front of the plane. He was worried as we had a layover in Gjoa Haven for a little over 1/2 an hour as the wind chills were close to -50'c. It wouldn't be a big deal but they had to remove Molly from the plane to get to the Gjoa Haven cargo. He called ahead and also spoke to the flight crew so that they would bring Molly into the little airport at our stopover. Much to our surprise, Captain Jeff carried Molly into the airport and when ready carried her back into the plane, along with my camera....below is what our pilot was up to.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

We are finally getting a break in the weather and this past week was much warmer than it had been. Temps had been sitting around -31'c with the windchill -42'c so about 10 degrees warmer than a couple weeks ago. In less than a week we will be vacationing with our friends Sandy and Keith, our old neighbours when we lived in Winnipeg. We are getting very excited as none of us have been to this island and it will be nice to have a break from Old Man Winter for all of us.

Yesterday Bernie and I headed over to see a litter of 10 puppies, they are crossed with springer and lab and all I have to say is PUPPY BREATH! Mary the owner of momma dog and puppies has agreed to work with Diamonds in the Ruff and relinquish all but one puppy to us. Bernie and Al will fly the puppies down to Yellowknife SPCA and then to Edmonton to find new homes. In return, we will give Mary some dog food to help her with the costs of raising such a large litter.

Today was a nice day so after lunch we finally got the dogs out for a good run to burn off some of that energy. We decided to head across the bay to the Maud to check out the igloo the Norwegians had made in November. Molly and Blitz ran into the igloo before we even got close to it. Craig went inside and checked it out with all 3 dogs of course. After taking some quick pics of the igloo, the Maud and the dogs the camera started to freeze up and we were also getting cold so we headed back across the bay. We came home to a nice cup of chi latte for me and apple cider for Craig while we face timed with family and friends.

The sun rose today at 10:05am and it said goodnight at 2:21pm so up a bit over 4 hours. We will notice a huge difference when we return from our holiday as it will be up for 8 hours. Double the time in 3 weeks and before we know it the sun will be up for 24 hours.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Since the holidays the temperatures have been extremely cold up here (wind chills in the -50'c) but what should I expect we live in the Arctic. This is my third winter up here and the one thing I noticed this year is that we have less snow than any other year that I have experienced. I could be like a bear, curl up in a fetal position and hibernate for the winter but that would mean about 9 months out of the year. Instead, today with -51'c wind chills I headed out with my camera and the dogs. All of us dressed warm but we still only latest about 1/2 an hour, including the Nikon.

Yesterday was the first day that the sun rose in 6 weeks for 1 hour, 6 minutes and 3 seconds...not that I'm counting. It came up at 11:36 this morning and in a blink of an eye it was gone at 12:42pm. Before you know it the sun will be up for 24 hours and we will be quadding and fishing everywhere.

A week ago Hannah and I were invited to the elementary school to do dog prevention presentations for all the grades except the grade 2 students. We are hoping to return this coming Friday to finish the other classes. Hannah is such an old pro and of course everyone loves her. I had one grade 3 student that was very scared of dogs and sat at the teacher's desk during the presentation but I did notice that she was smiling and laughing at one point. If Hannah and I can reach one student in each class to raise awareness and to help prevent dog bites then I think we have done our job.

Craig and I have been spending some quality time with friends since our return to CamBay. Last weekend we had a much overdue games night at our place and yesterday we went over to the Thompson's as they just returned a week ago. The last time we seen them was at Siesta Key beach in Florida. Tonight Craig is jamming with the boys and I have some quality time with...my blog and the remote.

Talk soon!

Taken January 11, 2013 on the bay - during the first day of sun

More komatiks on the bay

Took a romp in the golf course today

Loving the skies

Not much snow this year

Such pretty pink skies

The Martin Bergman docked for the winter

Yeah, they're eating arctic hare poo

Molly in her ear muffs

Mocha has NEVER done this before - watching Oasis about the Canary Islands. Cat watching a bird: who knew? haha

This is what Hannah looked like after our outing

And this is Molly

Blitz had a feather stuck on his nose from our feather pillows - too cute!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

I would like to wish all of my readers a happy 2013 filled with much love, good health, peace and topped with a helping of chocolate sauce and whipping cream, don't forget the cherry on top. The end of a year some people reflect on the past and what could of been. I would rather look to the future, even though I do not set resolutions as I have learnt that they are sometimes unrealistic. I did set one resolution this year and it is to simply remember to write 2013 instead of 2012.

I look forward to another year in the far Canadian Arctic and meeting new friends and cherishing the ones that are dear to me, both near and far. We will be flying out again soon to meet our long time and great friends Sandy & Keith in Antigua. After many years as friends this is our first time that our schedules matched and we can get away somewhere hot together. I can not wait to see them as it has been a few months since the last time we seen each other and we always have a great time together. We had some great conversations with our friends during the holiday season and it makes me miss each and everyone of you even more.

After spending some time in Alberta & Florida recently with some family I realized how blessed we are to have a wonderful family that we get along with as...well more than just family but also friends. Spring will be the time when we can hopefully head back to Manitoba and I hope we can see a lot of family this time as it has been forever. Just remember that you are all kept close to our hearts even though we live so far away.

Craig & I are doing well and had a wonderful holidays season with our family of 3 dogs and 1 cat. It is too cold to head out with the dogs for a run with wind chills getting close to -50'c so I have been getting a bit nutty with pictures of the Shorthairs. Today's pics are a sample of the craziness and I hope I have put a smile on your face and a chuckle in your voice.